Minister: Closer cooperation between industries and science in Belarus amid sanctions

Sanctions have spurred closer interaction between industries and science, Belarusian Forestry Minister Aleksandr Kulik said as he attended the science and technology exhibition Intellectual Belarus, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Kulik noted that all new products in the forestry industry are relevant and needed today. "The sanctions have forced us to take a fresh look at the interaction between industries and science. As for the system of the Forestry Ministry, the sanctions hit us the hardest, but the manufacturers of logging equipment quickly adjusted," the minister said.

The exhibition features the AMKODOR harvester and forwarder where more than 90% of the parts are of Belarusian make: from the cabin to hydraulics. "The interaction between industries and science was spurred by sanctions. Now the most important part for logging equipment (cutterhead) made by amkodor is undergoing trials. If they are successful, then we will have our own production of this equipment, as instructed by the president,” the minister noted. “When people ask me whether science or industries should be the spearhead, I answer that it is only in tandem. We see the results today."

Companies affiliated with the Forestry Ministry are successfully working on forest selection, cultivation of planting material. "We produce many things locally: form substrate to fertilizers. We grow more than 30 million planting units in root balls," Aleksandr Kulik concluded.

The science and technology exhibition Intellectual Belarus showcases more than 400 exhibits. Among them are full-scale samples (including large-sized equipment), layouts, and multimedia presentations on large screens.